Pacific Power reported power restored by 9:46 a.m. to all customers in north Bend affected by an 8 a.m. outage. A squirrel is to blame for the event that left 5,114 Pacific Power customers in north Bend without electricity this morning.

The blackout occurred when a squirrel got inside a substation near Mirror Pond, said company spokesman Tom Gauntt.

“It’s not where you want a squirrel to be,” Gauntt said.

Twitter accounts reported a small explosion, consistent with the “flash, and loud pop,” you’d expect from a squirrel crossing power equipment, he said.

The outage affected traffic lights and radio stations, according to online accounts. Police dispatch reported drivers treating intersections as four-way stops. “Motorists adapted to the challenge,” he said. “It seemed like traffic was moving fairly routinely. I was impressed,” said Bend Police Sgt. Ron Taylor.

The power company reported the outage affected its customers in the 97701 ZIP code area.

— Bulletin staff report